Can opener



Aug. 4, 1925. 1,548,181

. R. B RowNsoN CAN OPENER .Filed July 2s, 192:5

gwuemkoc Patented Aug. 4, 1925.

UNITED STAT Es 'PATENT OFFICE.

RALPH IBROWNSN, OF HASTINGS, MINNESOTA.

CAN OPENER.

Application led July 26, 1923 Serial No. 653,940.

T oall whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH BRowNsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hastings, in the county of Dakota and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can Openers, of

' which the following is a specification.

.. struction, whereby the headof the can may be approximately' wholly removed and at the same time be controlled toprevent irregular buckling out of its normal flat state in a can opening operation, including the final severing cut, so that the removed head will resemble a flat plate with a slightly crimped surrounding edge, and leave a smooth, unbroken edge in the throat of the can.

A `further object of the invention is the provision of improved means in a can opener for opening cans having inset or recessed heads, whereby, in the processV of cutting out the latter, the same is simultaneously progressively severed from the body of the can and controlled to retain its original position at points located adjacent the point of sever-- ance.

Other objects 'and advantages of my'invention will be pointed out 'as this specilication progresses, the invention consisting in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed. Y

In theV accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification:

Figurev l, is a view of arcan opener embodying my invention.

VFigure 2,'is a side view of same.

Figure 3, is a fragmentary perspective view of a can opener showing it in the position it assumed on the canin :the process of opening the latter.

Figure 4, is a sectional view on line 44 of Figure 3.

Figure 5, is an outline view of the cutting end of my improved opener, showing the can in cross section. o

Figure 6, is a vertical sectional view of a fragment of the can, illustrating the manner of cut made by my improved can opener; and

Figures 7 and S, are perspective views of fragments of a can, illustrating, respectively, a c-an opened with an ordinary opener, and the removed top of a can opened with applicants improved device.

' In the drawings, A designates a can, a the head thereof, and b, what may be termed the rolled rimthereof. The rim is here shown as being of double thickness, but may be of any conventional form, it not being thought important to describe the same.

The invention comprises a handle l, a cutting blade 2 having cutting edges 3-8, an outer guide member 4 for guiding the blade, extending parallel with the blade 2, and an inner lug or shoulder 5. Forming the crotch between the blade and the guide member, is a fulcrum block 6. The handle 1 is formed, preferably, of a metal stripV ofuniform width and thickness, bent intermediate its ends to form two forwardly diverging handle members 7 and 8, the latter of these being bent to extend for ashort distance in parallelism with the member 7 then outwardly and upwardly to formthe shoulder 5, the member 8 terminating an appreciable distance short of the member 7. A

The blade 2 and fulcrum block 6 are equal in width to that of the handle, to be flush with the sides thereof, and are positioned in superpose'd relation between the members 7 and 8 to extend longitudinally thereof. The blade and fulcrum lever are firmly secured between the members 7 and 8, as by means of suitable rivets, designated at 9. Thel parts of the device are so relatively positioned as to bring the outer extremityv of the blade guide member 4, slightly in yadvance of the 'point 10 of the blade 2, the cutting edges '8 of the latter converging -in a curvel symmetrically toward` the point 10.

The forward face ll of the fulcrum block 6, extends at right angles-to the parallel edges and the inner face of the member 7, and is suit-ably hardened, as by tempering, to enable it to indent, bymeans of its corners l2, the metal of the can, to avoid slipping during a can opening operation.

The block, which may be termed the end of the handle, is of uniform thickness to bring the blade and guide member 4 into parallelism when they are in their assembled state, and hold them suitably close to the outer wall thereof. The forward face 13 of the shoulder or extension 5, is disposed at an obtuse angle to the ilat outer side of the blade 2, and is located an appreciable distance in advance of the face 11 of the fulcrum block, for a purpose to be hereinafter explained.

The shoulder member or lug 5 has an arcuate or curved outer edge 14, whereby, owing to its angularity with the blade 2, or, in other words, its dip toward the can head, it will be enabled to roll with its outer lower edge upon the top of the can, said top being shown inset or recessed from the top edge 15 of the can. This is best illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings, wherein the blade is shown thrust through the top of the can, one of the corners 12 of the fulcrum block being shown in engagement with the edge 15 thereof, while, at the same time, the edge 14 of the lug 5 is in rolling engagement with the top 15 of the can.

GbViOuSly, an oscillatory movement of the handle to the right about the point .12, a indicated by the arrow in Figure 4, will effect an extension at c ofthe cut in the head of the can and simultaneously, a` rolling movement of the edge 14 upon the latter, thereby preventing the head from buckling upward by the upwardly directed forces applied by t-he cutting edge of the blade.

By inclining the lug 5 toward theblade (Figure 5) and disposing it bodily in advance of the face 11 of the fulcrum block, I secure a clearance at 16, which clearance is adapted to receive the iin or flange 17, formed by the cutting action of the blade from below upward. As the severing cut is located relatively close to the rolled rim Z9 of the can (as shown in Figure 6), a very small iin is formed by the action of the blade. bviously, during a cutting` movement, the head of the can is initially held down against vertical displacement at the point 18 (Figure 4), which point is coincident with the long axis of the blade designated. by the line 1 9-19, the distance between the point 18 and the point o on the cutting edge of the blade being approximately only half the width of the blade, thus reducing the span of metal at this point, and preventing extensive upward buckling of the metal, as distinguished from ordinary cutters not having a member corresponding to the lug 5, but having a shoulder as indicated by dotted lines at 2O in Figure 5, which shoulder is approximately on the level with the top edge 15 of the can, thus enabling the formation of long creases radiating toward the center o-f the can and extensive upward buckling of the metal in a can opening movement of the can, as shown in Figure 7, Also, as the opening operation progresses around the edge Of the Can, the

head of the can ordinarily dishes materially, frequently coming in contact with the users fingers. This is a common occurrence in the use of ordinary 4can openers, especially in cans having sunken or recessed heads.

In Figure 8, I have shown the head of a can removed by my improved opener, it being shown to have retained its flat original state, excepting the small surrounding fin 17.

As shown in Figures 3 and 5, the blade guide 4 is adapted to engage the outside of the can to prevent the blade from slipping, fas the user projects it through the head of 'the can. Applicant is aware of the fact, that there are can openers in use having guides of this type, and nothing is herein claimed for thisfeature, but as far as applicant knows, no can opener exists having members to control the can head in the manner described. As an article of manufacture, applicants construction involves certain novel features which renders its ina-nufacture extremely cheap and simple, the handle 1 being preferably made of a single piece of materia-l of uniform -width and thickness, as hereinbefore described, to form both the guide member 4 and the shoulder 5. By superposing the blade on the fulcrum block, and securing the same by means of the rivets 9 between the members 7 and 8, I secure a strong', neat, and durable construction.

In opera-tion, the point of the blade is placed close to the inside of the rim of the can, or the edge thereof, as the case may be, to bring the blade guide against the outside of the can,to function as a gauge during the can opening process, and at the same time as a guard against slipping ofiI the can top. The opener is then thrust through the top ot Jthe can until the face 11 of the fulcrum block impinges upon the rim l) of the can. The opener is now rocked about either of the edges 12, as the case may be, and is then moved step by step progressively with each rocking'movement of the opener until the top of the can is completely severed. The lug 5 throughout the process prevents the head from being pulled upward by the cutting action (from below upward) of the blade. Thus, by having the lug in engagement with the head of the can at a point located between the cutting edges of the blade throughout the process, cutting of the blade is facilitated, as distinguished from blades not having the lug 5 wherein, during a cutting movement, the metal head bends upwardly, frequently creasing from points located near the center of the can, and tending to pinch and retard the blade in its movement.

I claim:

1. In a can opener, the combination of a handle, a blade guide on one side of the lower portion of said handle, a cutting blade terminating short of said blade guide, and being spaced laterally therefrom to form a Crotch therebetween, and a downwardly facing shoulder on the out-Side of said blade, located in advance of the bottom of said crotch.

2. In a can opener, a handle having a flat, hardened end rectangular in cross section, and transversely spaced guide and blade members extending outwardly from 0pposite sides of said hardened end, a shoulder on the outside of said blade member facing toward the end of the latter and extending at an obtuse angle from the outer face thereof.

3. In a can opener, a looped strip of metal to form a handle therefor, one end extending a greater distance from the looped portion than the other end thereof, means comprising a. cutting blade and a hardened member having oppositely disposed angular portions thereon inserted intermediate the ends o-f said handle, means to integrally connect the handle and said inserted means, and a shoulder formed adjacent the blade by bending the short end of said handle to extend outwardly and downwardly from 'said blade, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I aflixV my signature.

RALPH BROWNSON. 

